


Walking the Line

by onceandfuturejedi



Category: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 22:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7592158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceandfuturejedi/pseuds/onceandfuturejedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the midst of the Clone Wars, a young Jedi does the unthinkable: she falls in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

She was a Jedi and he was a Sith.

Not that that had made a hint of difference. Not when he’d kissed her. But it should have.

Jaina slid down the column until she was sitting, knees pulled to her chest, the chill of the white marble of the grand balcony leeching through her loose trousers. Clamping her head between her hands, she tried to shut out the thoughts of him that were whirling madly in her mind. How could she, of all people, have made such a mistake? Where had the hatred gone, the hatred for all that the Sith had done?

It was still there, she realized. But somehow he wasn’t a part of that hatred. Because part of her realized that who they were and who he was weren’t the same. If they were, she could never feel the way she did.

But she couldn’t feel the way she did, even if he was different. They had each chosen their paths, and those paths meant that they could never be together. After all, she was a Jedi, dedicated to light and the service of the Republic. Emotions were something she was trained to keep in check. They could not govern her. Anger, fear, they led to darkness. So did love. Everyone knew about Anakin Skywalker; he was the Jedi Order’s worst-kept secret. His affair with Senator Amidala of Naboo was against every code the Jedi had established, everything that had been drilled into them since they were tiny children.  
But then, the codes hadn’t been drilled into Skywalker since he was a child; he had come to the Jedi Temple late, almost so late that Master Yoda had refused him. But Master Obi-Wan had spoken for him, and that was that. And he was immensely powerful; the Jedi Order could not have risked leaving him untrained, not when he could be the child of the so-called prophecy. So perhaps his indiscretion was understandable, and that was why no one spoke up.

Hers, however, was not understandable.

Yes, it was, whispered a small voice. You didn’t know what Thane was when you met him.

But she should have. And, leaving that aside, she shouldn’t have allowed herself to grow close to him. Jedi were not allowed to love, not permitted to marry. They were to be fully dedicated to the Force and to service. Instead, she had allowed herself to—dare she say it—fall in love with a man. And even worse, a Sith. The very opposite of all she stood for.

Was he, though? Lee Thane was not the kind of Sith she had been trained to be on guard for. He had taken the knowledge of the Force, and his Sith training, as a way of gathering knowledge. He had studied at the Sith Temple, learning the ways of the force through darkness, had learned to give into his emotions and let them govern who he was, but he was dedicated to knowledge. To understanding things. He didn’t believe in the darkness so many others made use of. He was—

“Jaina?” the voice made Jaina jump, hastily scrubbing at her eyes to hide the traces of the tears that had welled up. Her best friend and dorm mate, Jewel, stood at the door to the grand balcony. “What are you doing out here?”

“Thinking,” she said, pushing herself to her feet. “I needed some time to think after the last mission.”

“I did hear that this one was rather tough. I missed you, you were gone for so long! Are you alright?” Jewel looked concerned.

“Yes, yes I’m fine,” Jaina waved her hand casually. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Okay,” she still looked uncertain. “Are you still going to come to the Senate gala tonight?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t miss that,” said Jaina with a smile. “Are you going to get ready?”

“Right now,” said Jewel, a matching smile spreading across her lips. “Couldn’t pass up on a chance to dress up, can we?”

“Never,” replied Jaina, rubbing her eye once more and following her friend back into the grandeur of the Jedi Temple towards their dorm.


	2. Chapter 2

The Senate gala was everything Jaina had hoped for, to take her mind off of Thane. She and Jewel had enjoyed getting ready for the gala—decorated dress was never encouraged among the Jedi, but for formal occasions they were permitted to do so—and she had felt truly beautiful, entering into the grand ballroom of the Senate with the delegation of Jedi to the sound of fanfare.

She had allowed Jewel to choose her gown for the evening, yielding to her friend’s request that she try to put aside her devotion to the codes for one night. Jaina had nearly laughed at that. What would Jewel do if she ever learned that Jaina had put aside the codes once, in kissing a man, and a Sith, no less? But she had submitted to Jewel’s insistences, regardless. And so she was clothed in a dress that loosely followed her hips and frame, with wide loose sleeves, a long train, and a lots of colorfully beaded fringe on the sleeves. The fabric was a medium blue silk, but was covered in wild geometric, mosaic patterns of gold and orange and blue of every shade. The dress was backless, with three ropes of amber beads stretched across, matching the beads on the sleeve fringe. After the usually completely covering of her Jedi robes, Jaina could hardly believe she was wearing the dress.

She had allowed Jewel to braid her hair and pin it half-way up, so that most of her shoulder-length dark curly hair fell in waves, then had returned the favor and pinned her friend’s gorgeous and dark locks into a pretty twisted style, bound with bands of silver. Jewel herself wore a tunic-like gown of metallic silver satin with thin straps and a bare back as well, covered by a silver gauze cloak that was shot through with real silver. It trailed behind her, clinking softly on the marble floors.

She captured the room, thought Jaina, watching her friend laugh lightly with a handful of Jedi Knights and Senators. Female Jedi generally passed without attentions from men—the people of Coruscant knew the Jedi code well, and besides, a Jedi was not to be underestimated—but no one could ignore her friend on this night. She was too beautiful. Master Windu would likely caution her in the coming week, she thought with a tinge of bitterness, looking at the furrowed brow of the Jedi Master as he observed the gala. Caution her for looking beautiful, for possibly flouting the code by drawing attention to herself. But why shouldn’t she, said the little rebellious voice that Jaina had heard before. Jewel was dedicated heart and soul to the Jedi Order, why shouldn’t she fall in love? She could manage to do both, surely.

“Jedi Zhan,” said a voice. She turned, and her heart nearly stopped, her blood turning to ice in her veins. He was here.

“What—” she found her voice had vanished.

“What, lost for words? Why, I didn’t think it possible,” he said with that insolent grin he always wore. He was handsome as always, clothed in the black formal suit typical for a student, a gray cloak adding his own style to his look.

“You can’t be here,” she said, the words coming out faint. He merely raised an eyebrow, questioning her as always.

“I came to see the sights of Coruscant before entering the Academy,” he replied. “And I was invited to this lovely gala by a most willing Senator.”

“I’ll bet you were,” she hissed. He was strong in the Force, and at times didn’t hesitate from using it on the weak-minded. As he opened his mouth to reply, the music began for a dance, a new one that had been a favorite where they had met. Over his shoulder she saw Jewel taking the floor with Master Neir, smiling.

“Care for a dance?” he asked with another smile. Despite everything that shouted no in her, Jaina took his arm and allowed him to lead her out onto the polished floor and began to dance.

“What are you truly doing here, Lee?” she asked him softly. He shrugged, a bold attempt at nonchalance she was afraid to see through.

“I’m to study at the Academies, truly. I started there, a long time ago. Entered then dropped out; it didn’t appeal much to me to learn from stuffy academia in hot classrooms. But I have heard that the Jedi Archives are the finest in the galaxy if one is searching for catalogued knowledge…and I find, all of a sudden, that I have a thirst for catalogued knowledge.” he glanced at her then, and her suspicions were confirmed.

“You came to find me,” she said, hoping her face didn’t show the sudden tempest that picked up inside of her. She couldn’t be glad that he had done so—could she?

“You mistake me, Jedi,” he said. “I came for knowledge, and that—“ he leant in and whispered in her ear, making her shiver. “—is what I intend to find.”

“Well, I hope you find what you’re searching for, Thane,” she replied, drawing on the Force and pushing him away a little. His raised eyebrow was enough to show that he felt the push, but he remained at a genial distance for the rest of the dance, keeping their conversation to lighter topics, and when the song was through he bowed and vanished through the crowd as though nothing had ever passed between them but an exchange of words and a dance.

“Oh Jaina, who was that? He was rather handsome,” purred Jewel, curtsying elegantly to her own partner and making her way to Jaina’s side.

“No one you want to meet,” replied Jaina without thinking, then glanced at her friend. Jewel, luckily, had been distracted by the grand entrance of several distinguished persons, Senator Amidala among them, her sweeping velvet dress up to the usual intricacy of her style. Jaina smiled, exhaling softly in relief that her friend—usually quite attuned to the emotions of others—was caught up in the glitter of society. Jewel secretly loved Senator Amidala’s fashion, and often sketched the latest designs when they appeared on the holo nets.

“Jewel, I’m going to step out for some air, I’ll be back,” she said, tapping her friend lightly on the arm.

“Oh alright, I’ll come fetch you if anything exciting happens,” she replied, and Jaina slipped away, making her her way through the crowds of elegantly dressed socialites and stepping out onto the balcony.

The air here wasn’t quite fresh, exactly, but it was cooler, and she breathed deeply in the familiar scents she knew so well; the exhaust of spacecraft, the slightly metallic hint that always was there, the scent of ozone that permeated the whole of Coruscant thanks to its atmosphere, and then the softer undertones of her own clean-scented skin as she leaned against the railing, chin in her palm, watching the lights of the speeder traffic blink by. Her thoughts were a storm, leaping from one thought to another, and she sought to quiet her mind. She was fairly certain that Lee, who had never been fond of so-called catalogued knowledge anyways, had come mostly because he wanted to see her. He had never seen their relationship as something wrong. He thought the codes the Jedi forced themselves to live under were harsh and prevented them from achieving a full life, but she couldn’t—it had been illness, or insanity, that had taken over her and let her imagine for even a moment that she could flout the codes and get close to him while she was away from Coruscant. The codes were all she had to guide her! If she abandoned them, even for him, even though she found that she wanted to…Having him here was—was—breathing deeply, she closed her eyes, tipping her head back, trying to reach the peaceful state the Jedi were taught to keep their minds in, so that they would always be open to the Force.

“You really do look beautiful tonight,” he said from behind her. “The colors suit you.”

“Damn, Thane—” she turned, her concentration shattered, but he had moved from the doorway to lean against the rail beside her. He stood there, gazing her in that way that made her skin feel alight as she met his dark eyes.

“I know my coming was unexpected, but surely you’re pleased,” he said.

“I—Lee—don’t you see, don’t you understand? I am a Jedi! How could I pleased, when you—when we—” Jaina was afraid to speak up, afraid that the desperation that she felt would break through the thin shell she was keeping around it. That he would hear, or worse, that the Jedi Masters in the grand ballroom behind them would sense it.

“Jaina,” he said, his voice darkening. “You know what I think of that. Surely, now that I’m here, you’ll see that it doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter? How could it not, when we are in the very heart of the Jedi Order here?”

“Because the time is coming where we won’t need to be defined by codes, by laws, by others. The galaxy is at war, Jaina. Times are changing, shifting like sands. Soon nothing of the old world will matter anymore.”

“But now it still does. I—I could not leave behind all that I have known. You know that.”

“I didn’t, Jaina. As I recall, you left after that night to return here, without a word.”

“You should have known, you should have expected! We talked about this, Lee, we did. I can’t leave behind the codes, the Temple…I am a Jedi Knight, a servant of the Force. And you…you ought to be everything that I stand against.”

“Oh but you know I’m not.” he said evenly. He still met her gaze, and her protests sputtered and died on her tongue. They somehow always did, when he was near. Nothing ever sounded right when she tried to say it, though she could lay out perfectly why even being near him was wrong when she was alone. Just being around him was enough to set her blood thrumming, to make her smile, even when she tried not too—too late. “There’s my girl,” he said triumphantly, as her lips quirked into a half smile.

“Oh Lee,” she said ruefully. “I don’t want you here. I want to forget all about those months.” But her words were empty, and they both knew it.

“Come here,” he said, slipping away into the shadows, out of the line of sight from the ballroom.

“Lee…” she said, suddenly reluctant. She could feel the hum in the Force that spoke of momentum, of the import of this moment. A turning point, for her, for someone. He held out a hand and, with one glance over her shoulder at the ballroom of stony-faced Jedi Masters, Jaina let him pull her into the shadows and kiss her, feeling his warm hands on the small of her back, bared by the dress.

They stayed there in the shadows talking longer than Jaina had meant to. They always did.

“Jaina? Are you still out here? They’re about to start the entertainment,” called Jewel. She stepped out onto the balcony, her head turning to look for Jaina, who touched Lee’s hand lightly then stepped out of the shadows.

“Here, sorry. I’m ready to come back.” she couldn’t keep the smile off her lips, though inside her mind was roiling. Part of her was terrified about what she had done, what she had unleashed. She had kissed him, a Sith, within meters of the Jedi Temple! But a tiny part of her, too, that she didn’t really want to acknowledge, was thrilled to be throwing off the codes that had lately felt restricting, close. Lee was here, and their meeting here opened doors she had never, not once, considered could be opened. Because as long as he loved her, he wouldn’t leave her, and the thought was both wonderful and terrible.  
She didn’t glance back as she followed Jewel back into the ballroom, and didn’t see him for the rest of the night, pinned to Jewel’s side as they danced and ate, then returned to the Jedi Temple for the night. But as she was brushing out her hair near the small window of their apartments, she thought she saw a brief movement below. When she looked, however, there was only a cut flower native to Alderaan, where she had been on her last mission. She pulled it to her with the Force and left it on her bedside table as she slept.


	3. Chapter 3

“Jedi Zhan, concentrate. We will not be able to finish this if you are not dedicated,” the sharp reprimand brought Jaina’s attention back to the present. She blinked, then winced. _Come on,_ _Jaina,_ she said inwardly, refocusing her mind towards the repairs she and Master Windu were finishing in the Jedi Archives. It was a delicate job, one that needed a strong command of the Force and a subtle, careful use of it, something Jaina usually was quite adept at. She wasn’t the strongest, but when boosted by others she had immense control over the Force. Closing her eyes, she let the Force run through her, bringing it’s usual thrum of life and images as she sought to guide it towards the delicate archival material that had almost been destroyed when a speeder had crashed into the corner of the building. Slowly she felt the presence of Master Windu, the distinct impression of him that filled the Force, join her, and she welcomed his strength. His courage. His power. She let his presence guide her to the places where the stream of the Force was strongest, and dipped into it to find it’s power. Slowly, the Force overwhelmed her, showing her images, mirages, so real she could almost touch the figures of her memory. Mixed in with the usual glimpses of her past—her brief childhood with her brother taking care of her, her entrance exam into the Jedi Temple, the day she met Jewel, however, were new memories: memories of Lee Thane.

It had been three months since the night of the ball. Since then, she had given up trying to dissuade her heart against loving him. Because she did, she realized. It had now been nearly a year since they’d met, and she realized a little more every time she saw him that she loved him deeply. Or so she thought. She wasn’t certain what love was supposed to feel like, except perhaps that he was never far from her thoughts, and she never far from his.

With a soft click, she pulled the material free of the debris that she and Master Windu were lifting together, and brought it to her, setting it in a line with the other pieces they had retrieved so far. The material was several small holocrons and a crystal. They probably contained nothing of interest to anyone other than the Jedi historians, but they were precious none the less. Smiling, she shook her head inwardly. Lee was making her think like that. She’d always had an appreciation for the history they were taught as apprentices, but he valued knowledge at a price she could barely fathom, and it made her see the vast reaches of the Jedi Archives in a new light.

“Jedi Zhan, I sense distraction in you this morning, something clouding your mind. Is everything alright?” asked Windu as they returned to the debris pile. Jaina nodded, thinking. Sometimes it was irritating, working besides the most perceptive beings in the galaxy. _Was_ everything alright?

“Yes, Master Windu. Everything is well with me. I merely haven’t sleeping well.”

It was true; she hadn’t been sleeping well. She’d begun having nightmares, a return of dreams from when she was a child, a young apprentice, still hiding buried memories from when her parents had died. These seemed different, though, the resurfacing trauma colliding with strange and nightmarish images of her death, or Jewel’s, and a vengeful Sith, eyes glowing gold, standing in a field of the dead. She didn’t put much credence in the dreams, but they did leave her tired and uneasy the following day; the images were hard to shake. They seemed to follow her, appearing in dark corners when she went on patrol, or hovering in her mind’s eye when she spoke to someone who she had watched die the night prior. It was troubling—even Lee had noticed her unease, though she hadn’t told him the source of her fears.

“Have the nightmares begun again?” Jaina looked at Windu in surprise. She didn’t think anyone other than her old Master, and perhaps Master Yoda, had known about her nightmares. She hadn’t even told Jewel, although she assumed her friend probably knew, being dorm mates.

“Yes. Only this time…this time they’ve changed. Maybe it’s because I’m older. But they’re darker, if that’s even possible. More strange, more sad.”

“Is there any chance they are premonitions? Hints of the future? If they are, you must inform me, or another Master,” he looked at her intensely, making her shift uncomfortably until she drew on the Force for comfort. He noticed, of course, and his expression changed to expectation.

“I don’t know, truly. Sometimes they are the same; the darkness of my childhood, when my parents were murdered on Jakku.” Windu nodded, and she continued. “But then…then some nights, they are changed. They do seem more real, more tangible. Less like a nightmare and more like a memory. Something that has occurred.”

“What happens in these changed dreams?”

“I—I—I see death.”

“Whose?”

“Mine. Other Jedi, as well, Jewel, Jedi Neir, sometimes you, other masters, other Jedi Knights, even the padawans. A field of the dead, here in the Temple.”

“How? How does this happen?” Wind stared at her. She swallowed.The dreams made her uneasy to think about. To speak of them brought back the terror she experienced while within them.

“There is a man…a man in a dark cloak. He seems as though he should be a Jedi, but his eyes are golden, bloodshot. They show the darkness within him, this desperate sadness that…that…is driving him to evil. To hate. But I can never see his face. Never. Not even—“

“Even?”

“Not even when he kills me,” she whispered. There was no relief in telling Master Windu; it felt more as though by speaking it, she would make the terrifying nightmares become real. “He runs me though, with his lightsaber—just here—“ her hand clutched at the fabric of her tunic over her heart. “—and all I can see are his eyes. His golden, desperate eyes…he looks sad but hateful, as though he doesn’t wish for me to die but continues to do it anyways…just—just here—”

“Jedi Zahn! Jaina,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder and she shuddered deeply, hiding her face in her hands, trying to master her fear. The nightmares had never seemed so dark before, but then, she’d never spoken of these new visions aloud. “Jaina, thank you for sharing these visions with me. Come with me, I will see if there is something our Healers can give you for peaceful rest. I will inform Master Yoda of your dreams and see if they are truly visions, or perhaps just horrible constructions of your mind. I am sorry you must face these terrors, Jaina, try to reach out to the Force before you sleep and see if that brings a measure of peace.”

“I will, Master Windu, thank you,” said Jaina, raising her head and wiping her eyes ruefully. He smiled and got to his feet.

“Come. I think we should go now, perhaps we will finish this task tomorrow. Let us go to the Healers.”

“Thank you.” She stood too, and followed Windu out of the scattered field of debris and away from the archives, failing to see the flash of gray as a cloak that disappeared around the edge of a shelf as they left.


	4. Chapter 4

“Do you think these are true premonitions, or merely dreams?” The low voice woke Jaina.

“Know what these images mean, I do not. Strange, strange things our Jedi Zahn has seen. Too strange, perhaps.” Jaina, recognizing the voice of Yoda, didn’t stir. She was curious to know what the Jedi Masters thought about her dreams—she herself didn’t know what they were.

“Strange indeed. The girl was clearly shaken; she says the dreams seem more real. They change from the tossings of a mind disturbed to…to something else.”

“Seen nothing of this, I have. Perhaps they are nothing. Still, keep these images close, we will. Yes…say nothing of this to Jedi Zahn, till know the truth behind these images, we do. Allow her to rest, tell her that they are dreams—this will keep her mind in balance.”

“If we discover that they are more than dreams, however, we may want to tell her at a later time. She is a Jedi Knight, after all.”

“Yes, yes. investigate this, we will. Find the truth behind these terrifying images. Yes…” their voices faded away, and Jaina opened her eyes. So even Master Yoda didn’t know for certain what her visions were. She appreciated the concern they had, although it frustrated her some—had she not passed the Jedi trials? She was a full Jedi Knight, and had dealt with worse truths than that of a few nightmares. She was young, but not a child. She had been a Jedi for three years now.

But she had to agree with Master Yoda, she thought, rolling over and trying not to get tangled in the white sheets that covered the bed in the Healer’s quarters where she slept. She would let the masters deal with the nightmarish images, and take the Healer’s serum for peaceful rest. She needed to keep a balance, and she had to work to do so—especially considering the uneasy balance she already walked where Lee was concerned. She rolled again, unable to settled, and stared at the window set in the wall of the room. She could just see the orange light pollution that colored the sky on Coruscant at the base of the window; above it, she watched the lights of speeders nip by across vast expanse of black space above the atmosphere.

“Jaina.”

“Lee!” She sat up in shock, twisting. From the shadows, Lee appeared, removing the hood of his gray cloak as he came. The moonlight glowed on his short blonde hair, but his face was a study in shadows.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, you know.”

“Lee—if anyone sees you…you have to go now! Lee, this isn’t—”

“Hush, Jaina.” He sat on the bed beside her. “No one is going to see me.”

“How could you know that? How could you possibly—“

“And even if they did,” he overrode her. “I’m just a concerned physician, coming to see a patient. Or a historian, coming to ask a question…and found you, and wanted to ask what happened. See Jaina I can be anyone. Anyone at all. No one will know, as you wish.”

“Lee…”

“It will be well. Now why are you here?”

“I—I haven’t been sleeping well. I lost concentration today, nearly lost it…Master Windu sent me to recover. The Healer's asked me to remain overnight in order to ensure that their serum works.”

“You? Nearly lost it? I hardly believe that,” Lee looked skeptical. Jaina couldn’t meet his eyes. She didn’t know why she couldn’t tell him about the dreams. But…the man’s face. The one who killed her. He looked so sad, so desperate…if the dreams were premonitions and she soon was to die, she didn’t want to watch Lee’s eyes change to the sadness she saw every night. She couldn’t put him on that path—the path that led to a field of the dead.

“I—I used to have terrible nightmares. As a child. For a long time during my training they vanished, and never troubled me. But they returned fairly recently, and I—well, I haven’t been able to tell anyone, I was too ashamed. So I just let them go on, and today, well, I couldn’t concentrate. Master Windu confronted me on it, and when he found out, he sent me for some rest.” Lee didn’t speak for a few moments, staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face as though he was searching for something, for more. Jaina met his eye. She would not let him worry about dreams that might or might not come true. She could not let him even look towards the darkness. Suddenly, he broke the silence.

“Now, that doesn’t sound like Master Windu at all,” he said lightly. Jaina sighed, shaking her head as the moment passed.

“He is a good Jedi Master,” she retorted. “I admire his strength.”

“Oh? Anyone else who’s strength you…admire?” Lee raised an eyebrow.

“Well, there was this charming Numian, when I was out a few days ago…” “

Numians, huh? Not—this?” He scooped her up suddenly out of bed and spun her around, the ends of her sleeping robe flapping over her bare feet. She couldn’t suppress a shriek, but she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth as he deposited her back in the bed, trying to muffle giggles.

“ _Lee!_ ”

“Come to my place tomorrow night for dinner, Jaina. I’ll be expecting you.” He kissed her through her smile, and handed her the small bluish bottle of serum that the Healer had left for her. “Now, drink up and be well.” He stayed as she drained the liquid from the bottle. The effects set in almost immediately, making her light headed and suffusing her with a soft, floaty glow.

“Lee? Thane…”she murmured.

“Yes?”

“I…huh. I love you, Thane,” she whispered, a dreamy smile across her face. He smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead, and she was asleep before he slipped away, soundless as as shadow. 


	5. Chapter 5

“Give the Chancellor emergency powers? Remind me who in the galaxy did that again?” Jewel sat across from Jaina, reading a holoscreen above her friend’s head. The two sat in a brightly-colored diner off of one of the main streets, on a mission from the Temple.

“The Senate did,” replied Jaina absent-mindedly, scanning over a holoscreen menu. She and Jewel were on official Entrance duty, en route to pick up a young Force potential from his family and take him to the Jedi Temples. This child would be their third of the day, and as neither were expected for some time, both had agreed it was high time for a meal between trips. Shifting in the hard red plastic seat, she refocused her attention on the menu. “But that was a while ago, why is it on the news now?”

“He’s doing it again. Using the powers they gave him. This time he’s appointing Skywalker his official representative to the Jedi Council, for killing Dooku and rescuing him. As if he deserves a representative on the Council! The Jedi have always been separate. I’m surprised Master Yoda hasn’t put a stop to it yet.”

“Master Yoda has a lot on his mind. Besides, he probably trusts Anakin.”

“Trust? Anakin Skywalker? Jaina, he might be the best star pilot in the war, but that man is crazier than a bag of womp-rats.”

“I know he’s a little…passionate sometimes, but Jewel, he’s done a lot for the Republic. They would have lost several of the battles, if he and Master Kenobi hadn’t been there.”

“Passionate is a nice way of putting it. Two of these, please.” Jaina placed her order with Jewel’s and turned to look at the holoscreen. Sure enough, it showed footage of Chancellor Palpatine pinning something onto Anakin’s cloak, while the Jedi Masters looked on stonily and a row of Senators—a poorly-concealed Senator Amidala, looking lovely but tired in a very loose flowing robe amongst them—stood behind in formal array. A blue-furred alien was speaking, and three levels of subtitles translated his words beneath the images. Jaina turned back.

“Perhaps it’s meant to give the people some hope. Show solidarity between the Jedi and the Senate. The war hasn’t been going well.”

“Maybe. But it’s still a bit much,” Jewel shrugged. “They should never have given Palpatine the emergency powers. I realize it’s war, but the ‘emergency’ bit has passed. Why hasn’t he given them up? He has somehow managed to stay in power far longer than he should have.”

“I don’t know.” Jaina frowned. “It is odd. But I trust Master Yoda. Surely he—and the other Masters—would be able to stop Palpatine if he threatened the Republic?”

“Jaina, I admire your faith in them, but they hardly control the Senate. Their advice is barely registered now.”

“It’s unsettling. But until Palpatine does something outright against the Republic, they can’t stop him. They can’t even pretend to. Now. Who are we picking up this time?” Jaina tried to banish the doubts she felt. In truth, she quite agreed with Jewel—giving the Chancellor emergency powers did seem like a poor decision in retrospect. Lee agreed with Jewel, too, though—to a much more radical point of view. He thought the entire Senate was corrupt. But he desired it done away with, and Jaina wasn’t quite sure she was ready to go that far. That Palpatine had gotten too settled with his emergency powers she had no doubt. But that the whole of the Senate deserved to be wiped away and replaced? She couldn’t quite go that far.

“—she’s a nine-year-old, human, parents are wealthy and pleased to have a child who shows aptitude for the Force. Shouldn’t be too difficult of a pick up.” Jewel nodded her thanks as the waiter placed a plate of food in front of her.

“Thank goodness. It breaks my heart when they cry,” replied Jaina, taking a drink out of the cup set down in front of her.

“Yeah, it does,” Jewel agreed. Retrievals could be difficult; some parents were grudging to hand their children over to the Jedi Temple, and some children were very reluctant to be separated from their parents, and trouble could arise from any number of additional factors. But she foresaw no trouble with this one, and tucked into her food gratefully, changing subjects to chat with Jewel about the new speeder design that had come out earlier that year.

When they’d finished, the two left the diner and made for the high-rise dwelling where their new charge lived. Buzzed in, Jaina self-consciously smoothed her dark braids and adjusted the tan tunic that was the staple uniform for Jedi Knights. Over the tunic she wore a brown cowl-necked half-cloak instead of the usual full-length cloak, pinned with the sigil of the Jedi Order on her left shoulder.

“Don’t worry. This one can’t be any harder than the last. And at least they’re human,” said Jewel. Her tone was light, but her face reflected Jaina’s own unease. She played with her own sigil, which she wore around her neck stamped on a medallion. The lift doors chimed, and Jaina stepped off—to run square into Lee.

“Why hello,” he said nonchalantly, glancing over her shoulder to see Jewel standing in the glass lift behind them.

“He—hello,” she responded, trying to quell her shock. What was he doing here? “What are you doing here?” she asked, then cringed. A slight look said that Lee was bemused at her slip up. Jewel left the lift and looked at Lee closely.

“Haven’t I seen you—” she began, but Lee cut her off.

“I have been in the Jedi Archives recently,” he said smoothly. “I’m studying at the Academy and was granted access to peruse the archives when my research dictates.”

“Oh. Well, what are you doing here, then? If you don’t mind our inquiry,” she added. Jaina was too busy collecting herself to speak. Six months of having Lee nearby, and she still got a jolt when he appeared somewhere she wasn’t expecting him. It was hard, too, not to throw herself at him—she hadn’t seen him in two weeks, as she had only barely returned from a mission afield. She’d missed him far more than she’d wanted to admit, even to herself.

“Merely coming to discuss…options…with a family who fear losing their daughter permanently.”

“Oh no,” the words escaped Jaina before she could catch them. Jewel glanced at her. “You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t.”

“Now now, Jedi Zahn, I don’t know what you’re speaking of. I merely went to offer my condolences and congratulations, of course.”

“You turned them, didn’t you? Changed their minds? Made them consider your path, not mine? Lee how could you?” Jaina threw caution to the wind in her shock, angrily throwing words at him. “How could you cast a child down such a path? How could you know—”

“Look, Jaina, I didn’t know you were coming to retrieve her, you only just returned! I was doing what I always do—“

“It’s you that does this? Do you have any idea—we need these children, Lee! And they need proper training, a stable influence! Not—not some piecemeal training in a mysterious temple galaxies away!”

“Now wait, love—we’ve had this discussion before, my training was piecemeal but that was my own choice! I didn’t believe in everything they taught, that’s what pulled you to me, remember?”

“I—“

“Jaina?” Jewel’s voice, the epitome of confusion and shock, broke into Jaina’s furious reply.

“You must be Jewel, so lovely to meet you at last,” Lee’s voice took on the suavity Jaina had come to associate with thick sarcasm or mocking charm. In this case, she presumed the former. “I’m sure you haven’t heard of me, so allow me to introduce myself.”

“No! Lee, don’t, she won’t—“

“I am Lee Thane, traveling student of the Force, Gray Sith and currently, lover to your best friend since apprenticeship, Jaina Zahn.” There was a moment of impossible silence. Then, Jewel began to laugh. Jaina exchanged a glance with Lee—she was still furious with him, but they were united in this. She couldn’t pretend otherwise.

“Y—you—you—you? Her lover? She’s a Jedi, you fool, she would never—“ Jewel caught sight of Jaina’s expression and stopped cold. Too late Jaina wondered if she could have convinced Jewel that he was just a smart aleck Academy student she’d met once or twice who thought he was funny.

“Jewel?” Jaina reached out a hand, but Jewel drew back.

“He’s not lying. He—and you—you’re really—but—Jaina—“

“I know! I know.”

“Jaina that breaks—every code, every principle—how could you?”

“I’m devilishly hard to resist,” put in Lee, grinning. Jaina shot him a look.

“I—it’s hard to explain—Jewel, I wanted to tell you, but I knew—“

“Are you coming in?” the woman’s voice stopped Jaina cold. The voice echoed tinnily from a holoscreen beside the door number of the apartment where they were heading.

“Yes, beg your pardon, shortly.” Jaina shifted her voice to formal tones.

“The door will open shortly,” said the voice, and Jaina shot Lee a look.

“Time to go see if I can undo what you’ve done,” she muttered at him.

“All I did was offer another option. No harm there,” he replied. She shook her head in frustration and left him. Jewel trailed behind, but not before casting one long look at Lee. The door to the apartment slid open, then shut on the two, leaving Lee staring after them.

Once within, Jaina went into formal duty mode, shutting away her personal feelings and allowing the Force to flow through her, bringing confidence and poise. If she was to bring the girl to the Temple as instructed, she must convince the parents of the child that it was a good decision, better than any that Lee had offered.

“Hello, I’m Jedi Zahn, and this is Jedi Khaleel. We’re from the Temple? To escort your daughter back for her training.” Jaina could feel the doubt and indecision rolling off of the mother in droves. The father was less obvious, but he was clearly unsettled as well. She glanced at Jewel who, though her face was masked, refused to meet her eye. “Does this arrangement suit you?”

“I—is it safe?” The mother glanced to where a little girl sat in pink, watching the strangers avidly.

“Of course,” said Jewel. “We have the finest Masters in the galaxy training padawans. They are safe and well-cared for, and will grow to be a full Jedi Knight in time, with training.”

“And—will we be able to see her?” Jaina took a sharp breath.

“In the beginning, I’m sorry to say you won’t be able to. In general, you see, the Masters find it best to completely remove children from their known environments in order to better assess their potential, as well as pair them to a Master who will guide them on their path to Knighthood. Once this period is over, you will be able to visit on certain days, but these too will eventually come to an end. Jedi are to have as few attachments outside the Temple as possible.” She felt Jewel’s eyes then, but concentrated on the parents.

“That’s outrageous. Why should we give up our daughter, merely because she’s special? Other training academies have no such rules in place.” The father gripped his wife’s shoulder and stared at Jaina.

“I know you have heard this, and while it is true, I beg you to consider the opportunity your daughter is presented with. There is no legitimate training for a young Force potential other than the Jedi Temple; other schools exist but are not as safe or well-known. You are giving your daughter a chance to be a part of something bigger, more momentous than anything she might otherwise. As a child of the Temple myself...I know how important our work is, and how much they will welcome her there.”

The mother drew in a shuddering breath and looked at her husband, who nodded.

“We had always thought that the Jedi Temple was the right place for her,” said the father. “But when he came and said we could see her more often elsewhere…it just seemed…” Jaina nodded.

“I’ll go get her things,” said the mother.

“May I speak with your daughter?” Jaina asked the father. He nodded, and she went to the child, leaving Jewel to discuss further with the father.

“Hello,” she said, crouching down beside the girl. She had big brown eyes, and a small, scared smile. Blond hair curled around her shoulders, and she clutched a doll in one hand. Immediately Jaina remembered her own escort, when a Jedi Knight had come to her small home with her brother—really it had been no more than a tiny one-room flat on a safe level of Coruscant—and told her of the glittering Temple where she was to meet other children just like her. She remembered her eagerness, but also her fear. Those memories were pieces of her nightmares—or had been, once. Lately the images of her childhood had faded from the dreams, leaving only the death of her world to haunt her, when they chose to break her sleep.

“Hi,” the girl had a soft voice. “Are you a Jedi Knight?”

“I am,” Jaina replied, banishing the specters away. “Do you want to show me what you can do?”

“Okay!” The little girl beamed. Jaina smiled, remembering how eager she’d been to show off what she could to to the Master who had come to pick her up. She watched as the little girl furrowed her brow in concentration as she stared at the tumbled pile of blocks that sat on the floor in front of her. One by one, she lifted them with the Force and created an impressive tower.

“That is an excellent start,” said Jaina, patting her on the shoulder. “You will do really well in the Temple.”

“Evalinja? Ready to go?”

“Yes Mother!” the little girl shot to her feet and ran to her mother, who put her coat on and handed her a small satchel. She gave the girl a hug, then passed her to her father, who also hugged the girl. Jewel took her hand and led her to the door, Jaina following, the parents trailing behind.

“Please,” the mother’s soft voice stopped Jaina as she was about to leave. She turned back to look at the forlorn parents. “Please look out for her?”

“I—I will keep an eye out. But I cannot do more,” warned Jaina sympathetically. The woman closed her eyes and nodded.

“Just knowing someone—someone I know is, that will be enough for now,” she said. Jaina nodded once, then following Jewel out of building and into their speeder.


	6. Chapter 6

“How long has this been going on?” Jewel looked up from the holoscreen she had been pretending to watch for the past hour and stared at Jaina. Jaina, who had bathed and was sitting cross-legged on her bed, braiding her hair, had been waiting for the outburst since they had delivered the girl into the waiting hands of the Temple Masters and returned, done for the day, to their rooms. But she hadn’t spoken all through dinner, nor through much of the evening until now.

“About a year or so.” Jaina saw no reason to lie. Not anymore.

“A year? How, how could you keep this from me? For a year?” The hurt in Jewel’s eyes was almost more than Jaina could bear.

“I—I met him. When I was on Alderaan. We grew close, and I, well, he kissed me and I couldn’t stop him, and then realized I didn’t want to. I fought it for so long, but when he followed me here—“

“That was him! The man you danced with, at the ball. And when you disappeared on the balcony…”

“That was the first I’d learned that he was on Coruscant. Believe me, Jewel, I fight every day a part of me that doesn’t want to surrender the codes that have been my life for so long. But…I never thought I would ever love anyone, and I can’t stop. I can’t leave him, no matter how angry he makes me sometimes, no matter how different we are.”

“But Jaina…he’s a Sith, isn't he? I know the sigil.” Jewel whispered. Jaina sighed.

“He is but he isn’t. He trained there, but only briefly. He left, because he values knowledge. I know how it sounds!” she said, catching sight of Jewel’s skeptical look. “I thought the same, when I first learned of it. I didn’t believe there could be a path between the dark and the light. We’re taught it’s one or the other. Black or white. But it’s true. There is gray in the galaxy. He doesn’t care much for codes or laws in general. He does as he pleases, in search of knowledge, and the Sith Temple was one avenue of that search.”

“I still don’t know how you can have lived this…this lie for an entire year. It’s wrong Jaina! Leave him now, so that no one else discovers you. I can’t even imagine what might become of you if you are found out.”

“I—I can’t. I tried, once. But after…I wasn’t myself. I couldn’t leave him.”

“Jaina…”

“I know. I’m sorry you had to find out at all, I would much have preferred you to stay out of it. But Lee never was good at concealment, and he’s always thought my refusal to speak of our relationship even to you as a ridiculous venture.”

“Don’t you see how dangerous that is? How can you be so blind to the truth? The codes are your life, Jaina, they are what keeps us on the right path, on the light side…”

“No, Jewel, they can’t be the only thing that does, or I would have turned to the dark side long ago.” Jaina unfolded herself out of bed, and went to the tiny mirror above the washbasin. Once there, she picked up the little blue bottle of sleep serum the Healer’s had given her several weeks ago. It had worked, and, with very intentional meditation exercises before bed, she had been able to control the nightmares and escape their oppression most of the time. They did recur sometimes, and she could tell that this night they would be especially bad—there was certainly no way she would be able to calm her mind after the day’s revelations. She fiddled with the cap, watching Jewel’s reflection in the mirror.

Her best friend look torn, and Jaina couldn’t blame her. She was asking her to abandon everything she knew for the sake of her childhood friend and her forbidden love affair—a choice nothing could ever have prepared her for.

“I can’t—I can’t accept it, Jaina. But I have known you for longer than anyone, except perhaps my Master, and I trust you. But…but just know this, if you ever waver from the codes because of this, I—I’m going to have to do something.” Jaina nodded. It was more than she expected, and she loved her friend all the more for it. She downed the rest of the bottle in a swallow, and returned to her bed.

“Thank you Jewel, I wouldn’t ask for more.”

“Yes well…you’d better name one of your children after me one day,” Jewel grumbled back, putting away the holoscreen. With a flick of her fingers, Jaina dimmed the lights and fell asleep, smothering a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

Something wasn’t right. A tremor went down Jaina’s spine as she stood in the portal leading to the Chancellor’s stand in the great hall of the Senate. She had been assigned to guard the Chancellor for the moment, filling in for another Jedi Knight who had fallen ill and requested a few days’ rest. Lee had been furious—she had recently requested rest time of her own, because they were planning on traveling together—but she had felt duty bound to accept the assignment. The two of them could travel any other time, it wouldn’t hurt them to delay their plans by a few days.

But this assignment was turning out to be full of it’s own troubles—Jaina didn’t know how the Jedi usually assigned to guarding the Chancellor did it. For one, the Chancellor was not as popular a figure any longer, and there were plenty of dissenters who tried to get near him, meaning him harm. Even leaving those aside, there were his mad fans who followed him everywhere. It was a matter of constant vigilance. She had to constantly be in tune with the Force, if she wished to predict the intentions of every person near the Chancellor, and it was exhausting and overwhelming.

And on top of that, she had to contend with the constant, brooding presence of Anakin Skywalker. Despite her defense of him to Jewel weeks earlier in the diner, Jaina didn’t like being around him. Something about him unsettled her; maybe it was how he masked himself so she could not read his intentions through the Force unless she went in deep—far too deep to be any use physically, at any rate. She had tried once, as was her duty, and had nearly been overwhelmed with uncontrolled emotion: anger and resentment and fear and desperation and obsessive love. Images of a screaming, dying woman, the hum of a lightsaber and the cries of strange faceless creatures in a desert, an older woman whispering unintelligible words before slumping, dead, had filled her mind. It had horrified her. On the surface, Anakin was a brooding, cynical and sometimes dark-humored Jedi who trusted Palpatine and was with him constantly. But underneath, Jaina realized, he was a storm of uncontrolled emotion, the very thing that Jedi were taught not to be. The very thing that led to the dark side, that led to the death she saw in her dreams. She wanted to tell someone, but was frankly afraid of the consequences. The shadowy, murderous figure from her nightmares, which still plagued her at least a few nights out of a week and had been worsening the more tired and stressed she became, loomed sharply in her memory.

Jaina’s ears pricked as the murmur of low voices caught her attention. She reached out to the Force, stretching her focus towards the box where the Chancellor sat, Anakin with him.

“Is it possible to learn this power?” The voice was Anakin’s, but there was an urgency that chilled Jaina’s blood, though not anymore than the reply the Chancellor gave.

“Not from a Jedi.”

Jaina stepped back into the shadows as Anakin pushed past her, cloak billowing. He didn’t even cast her a sideways glance, but the expression on his face showed his preoccupation. Stomach churning, Jaina returned to her place by the door, trying to sort through her fears, the bit of conversation, the look in Anakin’s eye. Shaking her head, she reached out to the Force, this time to calm herself. She needed to focus if she was to complete her duty as she must.

…

“Are you almost ready to go?” Lee came into the bedroom of his small high rise apartment, where Jaina sat, staring at the empty bag she had set on the bed nearly fifteen minutes prior. “Jaina, what are you doing?”

“I—I can’t go, Lee.”

“Not another assignment, I swear Jaina, it’s not right of the Council—“

“No! No, it’s not that…it’s just…it’s…”

“Oh? It’s what? Do you not want to go? Because you’ve been putting this off, Jaina, and I’m starting to think maybe you don’t care as much about this as you once did.”

“What? No! No, Lee, it’s not that. I would do anything to go away with you. But now…I’m not sure if now is the right time—“

“Now? Why not now? Jaina, is something wrong? What is going on?”

“I—nothing. It’s nothing. I just can’t go right now.” Jaina stood up, reaching for him. “Lee, I love you very much, but I can’t, not right now.” Lee was very still when she took his hand.

“You can’ t go? For no reason? Jaina, I just—why can’t you tell me?”

“Lee, I can’t, I can’t tell you—“

“Oh, like you couldn’t tell me about the dreams?” He pulled his hand free with a jerk, and strode past her, towards the wide window where cruisers blew past, lights blurring by.

“What?” Jaina was frozen, half-turned towards him.

“The dreams.” He picked up a swath of gray fabric—his favorite gray cloak—and waved it at her as he spoke. “The ones you told me were simply nightmares from your childhood. But are really visions. Of your death. I was there, Jaina, that day in the library when you told Windu. I hoped you would tell me yourself, but clearly you are too afraid to. I just want to know why, Jaina, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me about something like this. Something that I would surely care about.”

“Lee, I—I—“ Jaina choked, her voice dying. She stared past him, out the window, feeling a loss for words. How could she explain to him how she felt? How afraid she was of what she felt was coming?

It had been months since the night she’d overheard Master Yoda discussing his intentions to continue investigating the dreams, and had heard nothing about whether they were nightmares or truly visions. She had a sinking feeling that in the turmoil and tension that had been building in the Jedi Temple and the Senate as the war efforts dragged on, the visions of one Jedi Knight had been quickly forgotten. So how could she know whether they were true or not? She didn’t want to believe they could be, but something…something told her, deep inside…

“Jaina, trust me.” He returned to her side, putting hands on her shoulders and turning her towards him fully. She looked up at him, at his handsome features, marred by his pain. His eyes, his beautiful eyes, that she never wanted to see discolored by desperation and rage. She reached out for the Force, and he felt it. He gripped her shoulders tighter. “Don’t. Don’t push me away,” he begged.

“Lee…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was afraid.”

“Afraid? What could possibly be afraid of, to not tell me?”

“You heard. You heard me describe the visions to Master Windu.”

“Yes, but—“

“I was afraid it might be you.”

“What? You mean, the figure—the man who kills you?”

“I—I don’t know. It sounds unbelievable. But Lee, his eyes…” she clutched at the front of his tunic, desperate. “His eyes are so sad, so desperate. I don’t know who it is. Who it could be…but I was—I am—so afraid. I couldn’t even put you near that path.”

“Jaina, Jaina I could never do that.”

“But you’ve already walked close, you’ve already opened yourself up to the Dark Side—“

“Yes, but haven’t you realized by now, after all of our time together? I was never seduced, I never cared for power. I cared for knowledge. And now I care for you more. I hope one day you can trust that.”

“Lee, Lee I want to…it’ll take time.”

“Come away, Jaina. Get away from this atmosphere, the poison that’s already seeping into the Jedi Temple. I can feel it when I go to the Archives. Something isn’t right there. Come away, please.”

“I can’t! You said it yourself. Something isn’t right. You can feel it in the Force. If we leave now…if I leave now, I will abandoning my home during it’s time of need. I can’t do that.”

“You can’t leave the codes behind, can you?” he asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice. She reached up and touched his face lightly.

“Not entirely. But I have left them for you, have I not? Let me stay for my home now, and then we will go away. Just the two of us.”

“Jaina…”

“Let me stay, this once more. Please Lee. I can’t go now.”

“Very well. We will wait. But not forever. If it…whatever it is…doesn’t break soon, we will leave, if I must carry you out myself, in full view of the Council.”

“Oh Lee,” she laughed, and stood on tiptoes to kiss him. Pulling the cowled hood of her maroon purple cloak over her head and black tunic, she left his apartment.

Once on the street, she opened her comm link, and was surprised to see a message from the Temple, claiming that the war was over, and that all Jedi were to return to the Temple. Picking up her pace, she ran to the Temple, her boots clicking on the marble steps and the glossy floors as she entered. She slowed to a stop as she reached the main entrance hall.

There was an eerie silence across the Temple, a heavy, oppressive silence that made Jaina’s heart pound. Something wasn’t right. She reached out to the Force, and had to clutch the pillar nearest to her for support, staggered by the disturbance, the sorrow she felt. Mouth dry, she recognized the sensation. It was the sorrow, the darkness that permeated every nightmare she’d had.

It was happening. It was happening, whatever she had seen in her visions.

Mindless except in her desperation to find out what had happened, to stop what she had seen from coming true, she ran through the empty Temple, towards the Youngling Room. Surely Master Yoda would be there, back from his trip to the Wookies’ home planet, and he would tell her that she was wrong, that it was merely madness that had seized her, that she was wrong—

Her steps slowed outside the room. Terror gripped her, the Force thundering in her ears. This was one of the sources of the disturbance. So much fear, agony, pain…she stepped into the door way, and fell to her knees in dismay. It was worse than her visions could ever have shown her. Death. So many small forms, shrouded in the robes they had been so proud to don just before…she gasped, hand over her mouth, bile rising. She forced herself to her feet and made herself pass through the bloodstained room, desperate to find help, to find someone now. Passing through, her gaze dropped, and her heart stopped as her eyes fell on a curl of blond hair, the tiny hand that had once directed a pile of blocks to move through the air and form a tower on their own. Tears began to flow as the guilt hit her. She had promised this girl’s mother that she would look after her daughter. She had done this. She had brought her here, when she had seen this, this slaughter…what she done? Sickened, she lurched forward again.

When she’d made it through, she broke into a run again, hood falling away from her head, running towards the Council Chamber. As she approached, sprinting down the gallery that led to the chambers, a figure in a dark cloak outside the doors brought her to a stop, a few meters away from the entrance.

He turned, hearing her, and her blood turned to ice, seeing his eyes. They were molten gold from Force-use, the whites so bloodshot that his eyes looked scorched and bloody. She felt her muscles stiffen, terror locking her in place as the figure moved and his face was no longer shadowed—and the tortured visage of Anakin Skywalker appeared before her.

“A-Anakin,” she gasped. “It—It was you, you all those times—“ he didn’t speak, but stared at her, his eyes dark, face tormented. “Anakin, please, stop, I’ve seen such terrible things—“ A clenched fist brought Jaina’s plea to a stop, as she felt the Force constrict around her, stopping her air. Soundlessly she choked, grasping at her throat desperately as he moved closer to her. He released her when he was close enough for her to touch—she reached out, hoping for once last chance, to appeal to him—and gasped as his lightsaber entered her chest, right she had always felt it would. Tear filled her eyes again.

As she fell, Anakin’s dark face flickered, transforming briefly to faces she’d loved in her life. Her brother, Jewel, Lee…they flashed once, before she hit the cold marble floor and felt nothing more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never killed any of my characters before...


	8. Chapter 8

Lee stepped into the Temple, and immediately ducked behind a pillar as Clone Troopers rushed past. Something wasn’t right. Jaina hadn’t responded to any of his comm calls, and he was desperately worried. There had been rumors…whispers in the street…flashes of news on holoscreens of an attack on the Chancellor…he reached out into the Force and shuddered. Much evil had happened here. He crept through, instinctively sensing to remain unseen until he find someone who could tell him what was going on. Until he could find Jaina. Slipping from shadow to shadow, blending in and remaining still in gray cloak when necessary, he made his way through the Temple. Upon reaching the edge of what he knew to be the Youngling Room, he stopped, feeling, sensing a trace of Jaina, of her pain here. He entered slowly, sickened when he saw the children lying dead. So much waste…so many innocents lost…he hurried through, unable to focus on anything other than finding Jaina now.

He stopped to hide once more as Anakin Skywalker, followed by ranks of Clone Troopers, strode past. One brief glimpse of Anakin’s face, at the glowering, yellow and blood red eyes confirmed what Lee had been afraid of, what he had felt. Anakin had turned to the Dark Side. Only one who had come near the Dark Side would know it, and Jaina, pure and innocent and full of light—she would never know it until—until—

When the troops passed, Lee ran out into the open, down the gallery. There, lying at the door of the chamber at the end, was a small form. So much smaller, in death—no. No, it wouldn’t be her—

But he knew it was, before he even knelt and gathered her into his arms.

She was so still, so small. Her eyes were open, sightlessly staring at whatever had been her last sight before she’d died. Her cheeks were glistening, the tears that had been there drying in silvery tracks. The cloak that had swathed her body, her black tunic, they had hardly any blood on them—it took him a moment before he even found the wound. The hole had been cauterized, burned until she had hardly bled. Shaking, he held her against him, unable to stop himself from crying out in his pain. How could she be dead? She, who had lived her life for this Temple, these codes…she had been betrayed by one of her own. By one of his own.

How cold she was. How small. How far away, now—ice filled him, and he looked down the hall where Anakin had strode away, his heart so filled with darkness that he had murdered a young woman who had never hurt him, never turned to evil in all her days. He had murdered _children_. Icy hatred filled Lee. He gently lay Jaina’s body on the ground and tenderly closed her eyes. Ripping the cord from around his neck, he placed a small pendant, one she had given him all those months ago on Alderaan, in her hand, then stood, his face as dark and set as Anakin’s. A final glance at Jaina’s still form, however, sparked in him the remembrance of her fear. That he would become the shadowy figure, that he would turn to the Dark Side. He shook his head.

“Never, Jaina.” he whispered, then left her and followed the steps Anakin had taken out of the Temple.

The hunt had begun.


	9. Chapter 9

When Obi-Wan returned with Yoda some hours later, he stopped in the Younglings Room in horror.

“Wait, Master, there is something I must know,” he asked, his voice desperate. Yoda looked up at him, his mind far away, hearing, amidst the disturbance in the Force, an echo of a conversation with Master Windu, about a vision a young woman had had of a field of the dead within the Temple walls and a man with eyes of hate. He shook his head sadly.

“If into the security recordings you go, only pain you will find,” he warned.

“I must know the truth, Master,” Obi-Wan left the room at a sprint, Yoda following more slowly. They passed through the room to the other entrance, where the comm station was. Looking down the gallery, Yoda saw a still form, covered from his view by a maroon cloak, lying at the end nearest the door of the Council Chambers. His heart sank, even as he heard Obi-Wan stagger away from the screen.

“It can’t be…It can’t be…”

“Destroy the Sith, we must,” Yoda said, his face grim. Obi-Wan looked down the gallery, his face whitening as his eyes fell on the body.

“Send me to kill the Emperor. I will not kill Anakin.” he said, his gaze fixed on the form, so far away, and yet so close.

“To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough, you are not.”

“He is like my brother…I cannot do it!”

“Twisted by the Dark Side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained…” Yoda followed Obi-Wan’s gaze. “Gone he is. Consumer by Darth Vader.”

“I do not know where the Emperor has sent him. I don’t know where to look!” Obi-Wan took a step towards the gallery, then froze, looking back at Yoda, who shook his head.

“Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him you will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used the actual dialogue from the film, so if it sounds familiar, it is...


End file.
